Vesper in Their Veins
by Volcanic Lily
Summary: When Ian and Natalie realize their mother was a Vesper, Amy tries her best to help them cope.  But perhaps Isabel wasn't the only parent who was of Vesper descent...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my take on what will happen when Ian and Natalie find out their mother is a Vesper. Hope you'll like it! (Disclaimer: Despite my efforts of late, they won't let me become the owner of _The 39 Clues_. I'll need a new plan...)**

"Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth Kabra has been found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and is hereby sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole."

This statement caused Ian Kabra and his younger sister Natalie to turn pale. For a moment, neither one of them breathed. It wasn't the fact that their mother had just been convicted of cold-blooded murder and condemned to prison for the rest of her life. It was her name.

Ian remembered hearing his mother's maiden name mentioned in passing before. He was nearly certain that Natalie had, as well. The fact that Isabel Kabra had once been Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth was no secret to her children. It was as plain as the sun peering through the dark clouds outside the window of the courthouse.

But when Ian and Natalie had heard the name, it simply hadn't been a big deal to them. They had had far better things to be doing- such as shopping, for Natalie, and playing polo, for Ian- than to be pondering the fact that their mother's maiden name just so happened to be Vesper-Hollingsworth.

But things were different now. Now, they knew about the Vespers.

Ian remembered how he had found out about this mysterious "other family." It had been a clear Tuesday night. He and Natalie had just settled in at their new apartment in New York a few days ago, and that night, he was preparing for bed when his cell phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID and seeing that it was Amy Cahill, he had picked up with a curious, "Hello?"

Amy's voice had been strained, anxious, even as she cut to the chase. "Fiske told Dan and I that we could tell you now. There was a reason that Grace started the hunt…. There's this other family, and they've been after Cahill secrets for centuries. You all needed to know because… w-we might have to fight them soon. All the Cahills, together." She paused, taking a deep breath. "They're called the Vespers."

_Vespers…_ The name had rung a distant bell inside Ian's brain back then, but he hadn't paid much attention. He had been too busy pressing Amy for more details.

"What else do you know about these Vespers?"

Amy had hesitated for a moment before she replied, "I really have to go. I'm supposed to call the Starlings, and then…"

"Well, that's all right. It was… nice talking to you."

She sounded distracted, and even more so, worried. "Okay. Bye."

Now, as Ian's thoughts returned to the courtroom, he felt Natalie's gaze on him. It was obvious that she was realizing the awful truth for the first time, also. Absently, he reached over and squeezed his younger sister's hand.

Natalie tried to smile, but her scared amber gaze still reminded him of a frightened baby rabbit. Sometimes, he forgot just how young she was. If this was difficult for him to digest, it must be even worse for his eleven-year-old sister.

As several security guards led the handcuffed Isabel past them, Natalie gripped her brother's hand even tighter. After shooting her an empathetic look, Ian allowed his eyes to sweep over the other Cahills (perhaps they hadn't come to the Kabra children's realization?).

Alistair Oh was still seated up front, having not long ago taken the witness stand to testify against Mum- no, she wasn't their mum anymore, Ian reminded himself; he and Natalie had emancipated themselves, and now, they were free from her ever-looming shadow. (Or were they?)

On the other side of the room were the Starling triplets. Aside from a pair of glasses perched on Ted's nose and the scars that were faintly visible on all three siblings' exposed flesh, one would never guess that they had been in that awful explosion. Those surgeries had worked wonders, and now, Ted could stare Isabel down along with his brother and sister as she was marched past them.

The Holts were parked two rows behind the Starlings. At first glance, Eisenhower, Mary-Todd, and their brood seemed peaceful and intent on watching the courtroom goings-on, but as Ian took a closer look, he noticed that Madison and Reagan were pinching each other in the sides- probably seeing who could tolerate the most pain without crying- while Hamilton was flicking his father's arm, and the mammoth of a man hardly seemed to notice. Mary-Todd just smiled laughingly at the rest of the pugnacious Holt pack.

Jonah Wizard sat beside his father Broderick, who for once was paying more attention to the world around him than to the screen of his BlackBerry. Instead of the usual gold bling and cocky smirk, Jonah wore a tie and a grim expression.

Finally, Ian looked to Amy and Dan, who were seated in the row right in front of himself and Natalie, next to their great-uncle and their nanny- whatever her name was. Dan was glaring with forced fierceness at Isabel, while Amy barely tried to hide her discomfort as the woman's eyes passed over her and her brother.

Then, Isabel turned to look at Ian and Natalie, and a chill went up her son's spine, sending an uncomfortable tingling feeling shooting through his entire body. Just as he had realized in the gauntlet, those eyes held no love for her children.

And, as he was only now realizing, those were the eyes of a Vesper.

But that wasn't the worst part. As Isabel was escorted out of the courtroom, an even more disturbing thought occurred to Ian.

_If Mum- I mean, Isabel- is at least half Vesper… then that means that Natalie and I are also part Vesper._

He looked over at his sister. Now that Isabel had gone, Natalie had released his hand, and now she was examining her fingernails, probably thinking that she was in need of a manicure.

It was just as well, Ian thought. If she hadn't realized it herself, there was no need to further worry her by pointing it out.

"Court is adjourned," the judge announced.

His three words broke the spell of silence that had been on the courtroom. The Holt kids began all-out rumbling, while the three Starlings, Jonah, and Broderick looked on in disdain. Amy sighed and shrugged in resigned amusement at Fiske and the nanny as Dan broke into a rousing rendition of "Joy to the World."

"Joy to the world, Isabel's in jail, without any chance of bail! What an awesome purgery, and without her plastic surgery, she'll look normal like the rest of us, with old people wrinkles and stuff, and if she dies of a heart attack, then that's tough luck!"

Nearly all of the Cahills laughed or at least cracked a smile. Jonah exclaimed, "Yo, cuz, those are some sweet rhyming skills you got there! Almost equal to a Janus!"

Dan beamed. "Thanks!"

As the two boys high-fived, Ian noticed that Jonah looked very lively, a lot better than he had back in the gauntlet, when he had looked more as if he were at death's door. Thinking back, he was ashamed that he had been ready and willing to leave the star to die. Was that the Vesper in him?

Natalie's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "I need to get my nails done when we return to New York," she remarked.

"Of course," he answered distractedly. His eyes were focused on Amy and Dan, who were now approaching them, along with Naomi or Nettie or whatever their babysitter's name was.

"Your mom's in jail now," Amy said with a warm smile when they reached him. "I bet it feels good, right?"

"Dumb question. Of course it does," muttered Dan, rolling his eyes.

Amy's green eyes were expectant as she waited for an answer, which Natalie provided.

"It _is_ a relief," she admitted. "We can live our own lives now."

"And no more fighting," smiled Amy, holding out her hand in an uncertainly friendly gesture.

But Ian looked away from her extended hand, from her, Dan, and the nanny altogether. Perhaps, with all he had already done to them, it was best not to let himself get too close to the Cahill siblings, even now that things were changing and they were all about to come together to fight the Vespers.

Because, although Ian had always thought of himself as a Kabra, a member of the greatest Lucian family on Earth, he now understood that there was another side to him, a side more cold and ruthless than a mere Lucian.

He and Natalie were Lucians who also has the blood of a Vesper in their veins.

**A/N: Good? Bad? OOC or not? Cliche (I hope not)? Feel free to tell me; I'm fine with it. Thank you for reading!**

**~Lily**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the second part, from Amy's perspective this time. (Disclaimer: Nope, last time I checked, I didn't own The 39 Clues. Let's check again... Nope. Still don't. WAAAHHHH!)**

Amy held her breath as the judge opened his mouth to give the verdict.

"Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth Kabra has been found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and is hereby sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole."

In the row behind her, Dan, Nellie, and Fiske, she heard Ian and Natalie catch their breath. As for herself, Amy wasn't feeling the rush of relief that she expected. Turning to look at Dan, his eyes asked the same question that was repeating itself over and over in her mind: _Did he just say "Vesper?"_

Amy was stunned- although frankly, not too surprised. After all, Isabel had to be the coldest, cruelest person she had ever met. And hadn't Fiske described the Vespers in a similar fashion?

Dan's green eyes mirrored the horror in her own as she realized, _But we always thought Isabel was a Lucian. Does that mean that the Vespers have already managed to infiltrate our family? And are there more Vespers who've also been able to get into the Cahill family?_

She discreetly swept the courtroom with her eyes. _Any one of the Cahills in this room could be a Vesper…. Or descended from one._

That meant, Amy knew, that Ian and Natalie were part Vesper, as well. She wondered if they had always known this.

But when she glanced back at the Kabra siblings, she could plainly see that they hadn't known until that very moment. Both of their faces were abnormally pale. Natalie was trying to force a smile at her brother, and Ian was holding her hand and gazing restlessly around the room.

Amy turned back around quickly. She felt deeply sorry for Ian and Natalie. She tried to imagine how she would feel if she suddenly found out that one of _her_ parents had been a Vesper.

_I don't think I could handle it, realizing that everything I thought I knew was really a lie. I would probably fall apart…._

At that moment, the security guards began leading Isabel out of the room. Amy felt her pulse quicken and her body stiffen as the woman's amber eyes stared at all of the Cahills in the room in turn: the Starlings, the Holts, Jonah and his dad.

At last, her gaze turned to them. Amy was sure her terror was painfully visible on her face. Fiske and Nellie both pretended not to notice Isabel's stare. Beside her, Dan scowled as bravely as he could (but Amy could tell he was nervous; his hands were trembling in his lap).

It was only once Isabel was gone that Amy allowed herself to relax. Justice had been done, she told herself. _But would the Vespers seek revenge? And, even together, would we be able to stop them?_

The judge's voice came as a welcome interruption to these thoughts. "Court is adjourned."

Immediately, a hum of chatter filled the void that silence had left in the room. Hamilton, Madison, and Reagan began roughhousing, and Amy sighed and tried to force a smile as Dan began singing some made-up version of "Joy to the World" that involved Isabel, plastic surgery, and heart attacks, which Jonah complimented him for.

Amy felt too dazed to join in her brother's laughter, though. And if _she_ felt like this, when Isabel wasn't even related to her- okay, only distantly- she couldn't even begin to imagine how awful Ian and Natalie must feel.

She looked over at the Kabras. Natalie was murmuring something to Ian, who was nodding his head distractedly, looking almost haunted, and staring in Amy's direction.

That miserable look on his face did it. It wasn't that Amy particularly _liked_ Ian (at least, not anymore, she thought), but if the Cahills were all going to make a fresh start, then she needed to put forth some effort. She stood up, gesturing for Dan and Nellie to follow her, and began making her way over to Natalie and Ian.

It was as she stopped right in front of the two that Amy realized that she didn't quite know the right thing to say. So she made herself smile kindly at them and said, "Your mom's in jail now. I bet it feels good, right?"

_Of course not_, she thought to herself. _They aren't idiots. They know Isabel is a Vesper._

Dan interjected, "Dumb question. Of course it does."

Amy was rather glad for her brother's interruption. It seemed to alleviate a bit of the tension in the air around them.

Natalie answered Amy's question. "It _is_ a relief. We can live our own lives now."

Amy smiled. Natalie, at least, seemed willing to make an effort, as well. She held out her hand to shake the younger girl's and said, "And no more fighting."

Natalie looked a bit hesitant, as if she were wondering how long it had been since Amy had washed her hands, but at last, she reached out and shook her hand. "Yes. No more."

Ignoring Dan's indignant "don't turn into a love alien again" look, Amy kept her hand outstretched invitingly to Ian. But unlike his sister, he ignored it, turning his face away from the Cahills. He still looked very troubled.

Amy shrugged it off, withdrawing her hand again. "Well," she said, "I, uh, guess we'll see you around sometime."

"Bye," added Dan, and he, his sister, and Nellie walked off to rejoin Fiske.

It wasn't until the four were sitting around the dinner table that night that Ian's reaction made any sort of sense to Amy.

_It's just like when he and Natalie didn't trust themselves around the master serum_, she thought. _Maybe, once he realized he was part Vesper, he thought- I don't know- he might want to distance himself from the other Cahills or something._

She looked up from her plate. Dan was talking animatedly to Nellie and Fiske about some new ninja video game that was coming out in a few months. Amy rolled her eyes and looked back down again.

_But if that's really what he thinks, that isn't right. It's just like what Dan and I thought when we found out we were Madrigals- back when we thought they were evil. We knew that, even if our branch was supposedly bad, we could be different. Even if the rest of them were wicked, we didn't have to be that way. We controlled our own actions._

Amy silently finished her meal, then went up to her room and took out paper and pen. Maybe Ian and Natalie could care less about what she, ordinary Amy Cahill, had to say. Or maybe it might actually make a difference to them. There was only one way to find out.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! I'm thinking about maybe writing two or more chapters since I have a sort of idea. So what do all of you think? Review- CC welcome! :)**

**~Lily**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: All right, here's the third chapter! I'm thinking that the next one will probably be the last. Anyway, enjoy! :D (Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. The. 39. Clues. Grrr... XD)**

Ian hated going through the mail. He always had- it was a job for servants, he always thought- but lately, he had especially disliked it. With their suddenly not-so-unlimited funds, every bill carried new importance.

However, when he saw that the return address was in Boston, Massachusetts, his interest was undeniably piqued. Sure enough, when he carefully tore open the envelope, he found that the letter was signed, "Amy Cahill."

"Well, that's interesting," he murmured.

Natalie eyed him from across the kitchen. "What is interesting?"

"Oh, nothing, Natalie." Ian shrugged it off as if it was nothing, but he quickly carried it up to his bedroom to read.

"Dear Ian and Natalie," the letter began. Simple, yet classic. Ian continued reading.

_Dear Ian and Natalie,_

_I'm not sure exactly what's going through your minds right now. I do know, though, that you know who your mom is, and who you are._

Ian let the paper fall into his lap as it sunk in. She knew, he realized. Well, it wasn't much of a surprise. Amy Cahill was a lot of things- naïve, too trusting, painfully shy, infuriatingly intriguing- but she was definitely not stupid. Of course she would recognize the obvious.

Slowly, he picked up the letter and kept reading through it.

_Maybe that wasn't the best way to say it, just to throw it out there like that. I just wanted to let the two of you know some things._

_For one, I have absolutely no idea how it must feel to know that your own mother is one of them. I just can't imagine at all how __I__ would feel. Shocked? Disillusioned? Scared? I don't really have any ideas on how to help you deal with it, either. Actually, so far, you probably think this entire letter is stupid._

Ian didn't think it was _stupid_, necessarily. Just… unhelpful so far.

_I guess that all I know to tell you is that I care. If either of you ever needs someone to talk to or anything like that, I'm here for you. I know that sounds corny and is probably no consolation at all, but it's almost all I know to say- except one more thing._

_When Dan and I first learned that we were Madrigals (and still thought they were evil, just like everyone else did), we might have felt something similar to what you two are feeling right now. To be honest, we were horrified. "It couldn't be true," we thought. Madrigals were awful people who only did terrible things (or so we believed back then). If we were Madrigals, were __we__ going to end up being that way, too?_

_But then, we realized: no, we weren't. It wasn't about the Madrigal blood that flowed through us. It wasn't about what others in our family did. It was about what __we__ wanted to do, based on what we knew was right. Just because Madrigals were (supposedly) evil, that didn't make us evil. A single family name didn't control our destiny, __we__ did._

Ian paused once again in his reading. He had never really thought about how Amy and Dan had felt when they had found out their Madrigal heritage. He supposed it must have felt _nearly_ as dreadful as finding out that you were descended from Vespers. Just nearly.

_I don't know if this helps at all. I hope it at least makes you realize that just because you're part Vesper, that doesn't mean anything. It doesn't automatically make you horrible, immoral people. I know that isn't true. You both may have done some things that weren't very nice, but I've seen that you have a conscience. Lately, I've seen an obvious change for the better in both of you. You're different people now, ones that I honestly like a lot better. (And by the way, I forgive you for everything you've ever done wrong to us. It's such a Madrigal thing to say, but it's time everyone lets bygones be bygones and just decides to be friends.)_

_Back to my point, you and you alone can choose what path you take in life. No one else- not me, not your mother, not __them__- can choose it for you. Everything is up to you._

_Again, I'm not sure, but I hope this helped you out in some way. I hope you have a great day._

_Your friend,_

_Amy Cahill_

Just as he finished the letter, there was a loud knock on Ian's bedroom door. "Ian, let me in! What are you doing in there?" Natalie's shrill voice inquired.

With a sigh, Ian stood up from his seat, still clutching Amy's letter. He unlocked and opened his door, and Natalie breezed into the room, her amber eyes immediately finding the letter. "Is that the 'interesting' letter you mentioned?" she asked.

The moment Ian nodded, Natalie tore it from his hands and began to read it. As she did, her face took on an unusual expression that her brother could barely place. At last, she finished it.

"That was a nice gesture," she said, trying for a nonchalant tone.

Ian wasn't fooled. "Natalie," he said with a mixture of surprise and amusement, "Are you tearing up?"

Natalie shook her head adamantly. "_No_! Why would I tear up over a silly letter written by some silly orphan girl?"

"Yes, of course not." Ian smirked, trying to conceal the sarcasm in his reply.

"Don't sneer at me!" his younger sister exclaimed indignantly.

Wisely, he decided to change the subject. "Didn't you wear that outfit just last month, Natalie?"

Natalie gasped. "Oh, no! Come on, we're going shopping, _now_!"

And as she dragged him from the room, Ian chuckled. _Natalie is in control of her own actions, all right. She's doing what she wants, and what she wants is to go shopping._

Sometimes, thinking about the trivial made one feel much better.

Dan was intent on practicing his ninja skills. "If we're going to kick the Vespers' butts, we'll have to be like ninjas, fast and stealthy!" he had reasoned.

And that was why Amy was now tiptoeing after her brother down the dimly lit hallway, making sure he didn't break a picture frame or something with his "ninja moves." _Another_ picture frame, that is.

Her mind was elsewhere. Ian and Natalie had probably gotten her letter by now. She only hoped that it had been of help to them. _Whether or not they'll admit it_, she thought, _They probably appreciated it. I know _I_ would have if I were in their designer shoes. _She grinned. Tennis shoes were much more comfortable.

Suddenly, Dan came to a stop, putting a finger to his lips. "Shhh." He stood in front of the entrance to Fiske's room. A crack of light seeped out from under the door, and the Cahill siblings could hear the sound of their great-uncle's quiet voice coming from inside.

"Of course I'm not going to tell Amy and Dan! Do you have any idea how badly they would react to such news?"

Dan shot a look at Amy that clearly said, _What's he keeping from us? I want to know!_

Amy nodded. She was suddenly curious, too.

Just then, Fiske spoke again. "They would, William. What would any fourteen- and eleven-year-old do if they found out that their late father, whom they had long admired, was a Vesper?"

And suddenly, Amy's world came crashing down around her.

**A/N: Love it? Hate it? Feel completely and utterly indifferent toward it? Let me know! Constructive criticism welcomed.**

**~Lily**


	4. Chapter 4

"No. No. It can't be true. No…"

As his sister repeated the word "no" over and over again like a broken record, Dan just shook his head. "You know that isn't going to help, right, Amy?"

A tear streaked down Amy's cheek as she looked over at him. "Th-then what is? What can honestly help us when we've just found out our father was a Vesper?"

She expected this question to leave Dan stumped. All she wanted was for him to be quiet, to leave her to grieve and hope that, at any moment, she would wake up to find that this had all been some sort of horrible, twisted nightmare.

But Dan was not stumped. Instead, he said in a quieter voice, "Well, actually, I thought that maybe talking with some people who're going through the same thing could be helpful."

She froze where she sat, one hand suspended in the air, prepared to wipe away a teardrop from her face. After a few seconds, she let it fall into her lap.

"What?" she said softly.

"I called the Kabras this morning," he said. "I told them what we heard, they seemed to feel bad, then Natalie started being annoying, I called her a couple of not very nice names, she threw the phone down, and Ian picked it up and said that they'd charter a jet to Boston ASAP."

"_What_?" Amy repeated, this time in a very shrill voice. "They're coming _here_, and you're just now telling me this? But… your room is a mess. Your hair is a mess…. _I'm_ a mess!"

"Relax, Amy," Dan said. "I know you want to look perfect for your boyfriend and all…."

She crossed her arms over her baggy T-shirt and frowned at him. "No, it's just that I would have liked a little warning."

_At least she isn't crying anymore_, he thought with a satisfied grin.

She continued. "As it is, if you called them this morning, that means they could be here any…"

_Knock, knock_.

"…Minute." Amy groaned. "Great. They're here. We might as well get the door."

Dan shot up from his chair and darted past his sister to open the door. There stood Ian and Natalie, both dressed in nice designer outfits (causing Amy to blush; if she fell into a puddle of mud at that moment, she couldn't possibly look any worse than she did now).

"Hello, Daniel," said Ian.

"_Dan_," Dan corrected.

"Sorry. Dan."

The Kabras stepped inside, their amber eyes surveying the room, Amy could have sworn, critically. She tried to comb through her hair with her fingers but soon stopped when she saw Natalie glance curiously in her direction.

"Here. You can sit down," she said quickly, pointing to the navy couch in one corner of the room.

Ian and Natalie obliged, and Dan did likewise as if the suggestion had been for him.

"I'm really sorry about the mess," Amy said, picking up a discarded candy wrapper from the floor and dropping it unceremoniously into a nearby trash can. "Dan just now told me you two were coming."

Dan shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "Surprise!"

"Was your flight nice?" Amy continued distractedly as she continued scanning the room for more things that needed straightening. When she was satisfied that there was nothing, she took a seat next to her brother and Ian.

"It was lovely," said Ian.

"Aside from the bird that got caught in the turbine," Natalie cringed.

"Was it wearing a cape?" asked Dan.

This question earned him some strange looks, which he ignored.

"Well, you know, if you're a superhero and you wear a cape, you're going to get sucked into a jet turbine," he said. "What? It was in a movie."

Natalie raised an eyebrow. Ian frowned. Amy just sighed and thought that maybe her brother hadn't matured as much as she had thought he had in the gauntlet.

"Er, Boston is… nice," Ian tried.

No, it really wasn't. It was gray and rainy and dreary. But Dan had said that Amy was "freaking out" and "super sad" (and he had also sounded pretty unhappy, although he would never have admitted it), and pointing out that Boston was not exactly on his Top 10 Places to Visit list- more like the opposite- was not likely to cheer them up.

Natalie gave her brother a disbelieving look but soon caught on to his intentions and nodded her head. "Yes. It's very nice. I especially love the, um… Help?"

She had intended it to be a plea for her brother to assist her. He didn't quite take it that way.

"Yes. The people are very helpful. Why, our driver took a wrong turn, and this nice young couple gave us directions."

"Nice- but their clothes were disgusting," Natalie murmured.

"I suppose his shoes looked all right," Ian started.

Dan had had enough. "Are we just going to sit around talking about nothing all day like everything's okay?" he blurted out. "Or are we going to talk about depressing stuff, find out we 'have a lot in common,' hug like a bunch of sappy girls, and then go get something to eat?"

The three stared at him in surprised silence.

"Well, that Chinese restaurant several blocks back did look rather inviting…" Natalie put in.

Ian cleared his throat. "Yes, Daniel- er, Dan- did tell us everything- about your father…."

And suddenly, to Dan's dismay, his sister looked as if her eyes were again going to start spouting out water like a fountain.

"We're sorry," offered Natalie tentatively.

Amy just nodded, biting down painfully on her lips in an attempt to keep in the tears.

"It stinks," Dan said. "Like the time Nellie ran over a skunk in the Madrigalator."

Ian and Natalie eyed each other in bewilderment. Both wealthy siblings opened their mouths to ask the inevitable question.

"He named our car," Amy explained, then went back to looking like she wanted to cry.

"It must feel terrible," said Natalie.

"As Dan said over the telephone, we would know," added Ian. "To be honest, there isn't much I can think of that I believe would be of help." He paused. "However, a friend of ours did tell us something once that helped us." He smiled slightly, thinking back at the letter. "We are here for you, and we care."

Natalie nodded her head. "We are."

Amy blinked once, twice, in surprise. Those were _her_ words, from _her_ letter. Again, her green eyes flooded- only, this time, there was a bit of happiness mixed in with the hurt.

It was kind. It was kinder than expected. It was a whole new level of kind where the Kabras were concerned. And Amy found herself flinging her arms around their necks. Natalie, taken aback, was at least relieved that she smelled as if she had taken a bath recently (now, her ninja-obsessed brother, she wasn't so sure about), while Ian reddened a bit and wondered why a few simple words could make someone so happy.

Dan thought about pretending to gag, then decided that it would pass more quickly if he just didn't say anything.

Amy pulled away, now a bit embarrassed at her spontaneous action. "Um, thanks," she said. "That was really nice of you."

"It was the least we could do," Natalie shrugged. "We're really just plagiarizing."

"And anyway," said Ian, "Dan said the two of you only overheard part of the conversation. Perhaps you missed something important. I didn't know Arthur Trent well, but I know he couldn't have been evil enough to be a Vesper."

Amy blinked away the last remaining tears from her eyes and asked, "Do you think we should ask Uncle Fiske about it?"

"He'd know we've been eavesdropping," said Dan.

"But I want to know," Amy said, "Don't you?"

"Well, yeah," he admitted.

"We will even come with you," said Ian, and Natalie nodded.

So it was that minutes later, the four children were in Fiske Cahill's study, listening to his explanation.

"So you see," Fiske concluded, "Arthur _was_ working for the Vespers, but when he met Hope, he changed. He turned his back on the Vespers forever and instead devoted the rest of his life to helping the Madrigals."

Dan bobbed his head, a wave of relief sweeping over him in a rush. He turned to look at his sister.

_Amy, see?_ his look said. _Dad wasn't evil! He was still one of the good guys!_

_Thank goodness_, her face replied.

And his said, _I know, right?_

"Glad to know," said Natalie.

"I knew he couldn't be evil," Ian said.

Amy couldn't wipe the stupid smile off her face for the life of her; she was so positively giddy to have the darkest of her suspicions erased. She turned to the Kabras.

"Thanks again for coming all this way just to see us. That really means a lot."

"Think nothing of it," replied Ian.

"It isn't a big deal," Natalie said.

Ian went on, "After all, we were only responding to a very nice letter we received."

Then, Dan piped up. "Okay, everything's good again! Now, who wants pizza?"


End file.
